A Rose By Any Other Name
by Shishi-ya-no-Shyuu
Summary: What do you get when you cross Rose Red's maninfested spirit into a hyper girl, Nick's riley soul, endless bills and all living in Emery's house? Sheer pandamonium! (Ch.3) (R&R)
1. Whose the Chick?

Emery took a deep breath, closing his eyes. He imagined that his kitchen was not still piled with bills, debt notices, junk mail that he just had to keep, letters from Sister, Annie and Kathy that he had yet to open, not to mention the pizza boxes from a few weeks ago still stacked on his greased over counter tops, but was really all clean, the tile floors shining with a new soap, and the smell of rotting food was only the garbage truck passing by outside. A thought came to his mind, it made him chuckle slightly, since he knew what the outcome of this experiment would be, but to him, if he cast away evil spirits from ripping him to shreds, surely he could make all the mess disappear as well. He concentrated on his fantasy room.  
  
"Not there, not there, not there!"  
  
He didn't know why he tried, it seemed that the smell and bills only grew larger every time he did attempt to make his troubles vanish. Most likely because karma had him screwed.  
  
His hand shuffled through the disaster of a table. He didn't even have to look at them anymore without already knowing what the slip of neatly folded paper would say. Debts up to his ass. He opened his eyes again, gazing about his kitchen. And yet the word seemed so odd to say. His kitchen. His food. His house. Obvious to say it automatically became his responsibility after his mother was killed. It still scared him shitless what happened, but all in all, he felt better knowing his dearest mama wasn't mooching off his money anymore. That and he finally could get away with leaving and not having to worry about what she would say or worse, do. It was nice in its own way, yet he couldn't help but feel like she was hovering over him, her face contorted in some odd fashion of discipline at how he kept her house.  
  
His wandering eyes soon came to meet his "souvenir" he had so unwillingly received a good year and a half ago. He couldn't use his finger-less hand for jack crap, unless scaring the neighborhood children was one of them. If that were true then he used that hand everyday. God forbid.  
  
Emery sat up from his slouched over position above his bills, shoving the chair back with a rather loud screech. It wasn't often he got out anymore, let alone walked through the house although he wished he could get out more. The way he saw it, after staying in a house that wanted to murder you in some of the worst ways possible, you get a sense of uneasiness from staying in any house even if it was your own.  
  
His stride was slow, yet took him far into the next room before he knew it. He knew where he was going, it was something he had become accustomed to over the year or so of returning back. In his filthy yet much cleaner living room, he strode past the couches and TV to halt at a broad dresser table. It was one of the few prides of his home since it was the only piece of furniture that had not been touched. Glass shudders, which contained his mother's finest china and silverware. The outside oak was still wondrously shined compared to his computer desk upstairs and he planned on keeping it that way. The only thing he had changed about it was a small wooden box securely locked by metal latches. He had saved it from a garage sale a few years back and had kept it ever since, looking for something worth while to place in it. And finally, a year and a half ago, he found the item that would have the worth to be kept in it.  
  
A piece of wood from Rose Red.  
  
It seemed that whenever he took the time to stop at this box, that same memory would always return to him, never once a fragment missing from the time it had occurred. He took a deep breath as it came flooding back.

* * *

It was dark outside, a very cold, eerie night. Down a hallway out of anyone's vision, a clock struck its chorus for the final hour of the day. It was exactly twelve o'clock midnight. It would seem fitting in its own way that the breeze had picked up significantly during their short time being there. Or at least that's what most of them wanted to think. Really it had been a whole day which, at the rate the study was going, was more then enough time at Rose Red. Ironically though, the entrance doors had a habit of changing places with the inner courtyard, which made leaving a little more then hazardous. And to add to the dilemma, Joyce wasn't anywhere near wanting to leave yet.  
  
Annie had been sweet enough to lighten the mood of the morbid group, turning on an old record player on the upper floor. The house must've liked the music at that time considering every single note filtered through the lower level like an oversized stereo. And to add simply, everyone was taking advantage of it. Either random couples were swinging to the music, the clacks of their shoes tapping along with the beat and oddly some swingers had no sound to their shoes...And some just pigged out on the newly delivered pizza. Whichever seemed to float their boat at the time.  
  
Emery sat eating a slice of cheese pizza at the edge of his seat. In literacy, he was near to face planting in the half-full pizza box in front of him had he not been careful enough. He had been watching the others dance the night away, knowing better then to get comfortable with Rose Red's moment of enjoyment. He sneered at his group, hearing them laugh and sing to songs they knew and switching partners constantly. Soon though, one of them swung by his seat and flung himself into the chair next to the skittish man. Emery rolled his eyes with a hidden sigh. It was Nick.  
  
"Hey, why aren't out there with the rest of us?" Nick asked with a slight pant, giving the guy a strangely happy smile.  
  
"Maybe it's because I know the moment we lay our happy little heads down, the house will screw us over again?" Emery scoffed in strong sarcasm.  
  
He hadn't really liked many of the people he was forced to live with, Nick being one of them. The statement made the man grimace. The change of attitude seemed quick in Emery's eyes, even for Nick. He was usually so suave and uncaring about hard situations and yet it seemed as though for at least a couple hours, Nick knew something that he wasn't letting on. Emery glared when he realized this.  
  
"Okay, what is it?! I'm sick of having people stare at me like that. If you have something to say, just say it!" the snarl escaped Emery's mouth before he had a chance to rethink his statement. It was how he felt though, so in moderation, he didn't feel too guilty about it. Nick somehow expected this, leaning forward with a new look of seriousness written across his demeanor.  
  
"I do actually have something to tell you--well really I'm demanding it of you. I need you to take something for me and for the love of Rose Red's SOUL don't you lose it!" Nick threatened, joking aside. The icy glare that filled his eyes was enough to freeze Emery to the bone, his only response to him a slow nod in acknowledgment. It was all he could manage at the time.  
  
"Fine, fine! But, why me? Give whatever the thing is to Joyce or Kathy. I'm not interested with carrying more then my load." Emery snapped back in return, finally gaining his courage to speak for himself. Nick, had he not kept his self-control so well could've sent the whole house into silence.  
  
"NO!! This is between me and you, Emery! I had a vision earlier and I know for a fact that you should keep it. I know it's going to come in handy someday and I have to give whatever that may be a chance! So, take it! Please just take it and keep it somewhere safe," Nick barked, keeping his composure to most if not all his words.  
  
The minor speech seemed to strike a cord with the frightened Emery, considering he had dropped his pizza in his moment of shock. Emery first sat back in his seat, letting the moment sink in, the bouncing music in the background giving him peace of mind. His mind seemed to play Ping-Pong with his options, first being sent in the direction of declining the offer, but was soon hit by the hard paddle of self-respect and responsibility, then back again. Moments passed and he suddenly sat up, leaning forward to enclose their conversation since Kathy and Sister had noticed their heated discussion. Clearing his throat to finalize his decision, Emery locked eyes with his colleague.  
  
"I don't know why I'm trusting you, and I'm not sure why the hell you want to give something to me in the middle of this freak of a house, but what is it?" he whispered to the man who still had the same expression on his face. The question brought forth yet another cold stare.  
  
"Yes or no, Emery." This time his voice began to soften again, slowly returning his cool, calm demeanor. Nick crossed his arms over his chest, impatiently awaiting his answer.  
  
Emery growled in displeasure, "Fine. I'll see what I can do about it and I promise to take good care of this whatever-it-is, okay?!"  
  
Nick's brows rose and a light smile returned to his lips as well as a certain glow in his eyes. He let out a thankful sigh as anyone could tell and reached into a bag he had brought with him at his feet. He pulled the item carefully out of the little bag, taking great care as if it were something sacred. Nick reached out his other hand and grasped Emery's wrist to pull out and open palm. He placed it in the man's hand, grasping both the item and the outstretched palm in a thankful handshake.  
  
"I'm putting my trust in you, Emery. Thank you." Nick finished. Without another word he stood from his seat and was soon skipping next to the girls in another upbeat tune.  
  
Emery watched him leave, then opened his palm to gaze in shock at what he was given, its cold, smooth surface and brown color unmistakable.  
  
A piece of Rose Red's wood.

* * *

Now he stood, the memory fading. He only did start to listen to Nick until after he was killed, which was a shame. Even if the guy was a ladies man. He didn't deserve that kind of ending. Another heavy sigh escaped his throat, turning to go back to the dreaded Bill-n-Debt Mountains, which resided in and throughout the kitchen. His one-track mind was soon interrupted when a knock came at his door. Inwardly he growled, assuming it must be Annie or Kathy come to annoy him. He liked them well enough, but today he wasn't in the best of moods to chat.  
  
Making his way to the door, Emery stopped in front of it, debating whether or not he should pretend he wasn't there. That thought was soon abandoned when he realized his car was parked outside and his lights were on in most of the rooms. Even though it was against his moral of the day, Emery finally grabbed the door handle and threw the oak door open, ready to cast away his expected company when his mouth stopped short. He stared in disbelief at what or rather who was on his front porch.  
  
A girl that looked about seventeen or eighteen stood in front of him. She was a girl he had never seen before with long red hair about down to her knees which where tied in two separate braids, her bangs thick and messy, the color a bright red. He would've guessed it was dyed by where he stood. She wore a sweater that was also trimmed in the same reddish pigment, a darker red shall hanging around her neck with a white flimsy bow tied in the center. A skirt following the same bright color pattern fell down to her knees with a bow tied to the back of it, long leg warmers filling in the rest of her leg space. To finish off this rather awkward outfit (and the strangest part of it he had to say) was a rose that hung from a fabric necklace just below her chin. He blinked in more confusion when he noticed a trail of what looked like vines wrapped around her right sweater arm. He backed up in his surprise.  
  
"Um, hello Miss... Can I help...!!!" He suddenly was struck when his eyes met hers. A blazing red, just like the rest of her outfit, which immediately labeled her as a weirdo in Emery's book. He struggled to continue where he left off, which almost seemed ridiculous at this point.  
  
"C-c-can I h-help you M-miss?" he mentally kicked himself in the ass for that one.  
  
The strange red-obsessed girl gave a small smile in her greeting.  
  
"Yes, could you please sir?" her voice was high-pitched, almost childish for her apparent age, but carried a sweet tone nonetheless. It could have made him puke at how sugar sweet it was, but her looks seemed to suffice for a balance. It wasn't as if she LOOKED like a child!  
  
"Okaaay...I've never seen you before but I'll help in any way I can... What's your name and what have you lost?" Emery asked after a moment, unsure of this girl's presence. She seemed familiar and he wasn't sure why. She held out her hand to him as if asking for him to give whatever it was she wanted to her. A brighter smile lit up her face.  
  
"My name's Rosey. I believe you have my wood. Would you be so kind as to give it back to me?"  
  
((A/N: Well, well, my first non-anime related fic! Please tell me what you think! Reviews are always appreciated!)) 


	2. Wooden Paranoia

"My name's Rosey. I believe you have my wood. Would you be so kind as to give it back to me?"  
  
"What...?" came Emery's only response. He could only stare at her in disbelief at the request. Who the hell would want some random guy's wood? What did she mean by it?! The girl so aptly named Rosey stifled a giggle at his question.  
  
"The wood. My wood. You have it, don't you...?" her eyes widened in nervous dread, her lip trembling as if she were about to burst into tears, which made Emery's brain scramble for an answer before the waterworks turned on.  
  
He glanced about at his home inside behind him, scanning the walls like they were going to give him the clue that he needed. Finding no such luck, he turned back to her.  
  
"I have no idea what you're talking about! What wood could you want?! If you really need it so bad, just take a crowbar and pry off some lumber from the walls or something! I don't know!" he shouted in exasperation. This girl was a hassle, wanting a piece of wood from his crappy old house.  
  
Emery did a rerun of looking over his shoulder about the living room. First he came to his TV which had a wood coated VCR (that of which he highly doubted she wanted), then to a wooden rocking chair that his mother used to sit in, one he not dare ever touch, and then to the railings that lined the stairway to the second level of the house. It made him want to boil over in frustration. For all he knew this girl could be an escaped quack from the Looney bin.  
  
Deciding that it obviously wasn't any of the recreational items and furniture that was made of wood she was looking for, his eyes finally fell upon the dresser table and to the small box that perched on top of it. It struck him in instant fear when he realized what she was asking for. It had to have been the last piece of Rose Red's wood, the one item Nick had told him to keep safe until it was needed. He questioned whether or not this is what the guy meant, but shoved the thought out of his head for now, returning to look at the now very scary girl.  
  
She had ceased her threat to burst out crying and was now staring at him with a rather thoughtful look, her gaze following his to the box. That same brightened smile resurfaced itself on her lips when she saw it, giving him a sturdy nod in approval for him locating the item she had been looking for. In return of the nod she was given a frightened, but determined stare from Emery.  
  
"That," Emery blandly stated, pointing a limp finger towards the dust- covered chest. A nod answered him, "The wood that's inside the box," he stated again, another dumbfounded statement. He was again given a nod.  
  
"And...what did you say your name was?" Emery asked precariously, on the verge of either freaking out and calling the psyche ward, or fainting on the spot. The girl rolled her eyes sheepishly.  
  
"Rosey!" she chirped happily. He stared at her with wide saucer eyes.  
  
"Aw, hell no!!!" He screamed, lurching back and slamming the door in her face, a click of the handle hastily being locked following soon after.  
  
Rosey stood, shocked at his reaction, her feet giving out from underneath her as she landed on her knees. Trying hard not to cry, she instead held her emotions inside. She was used to it, normally. Even though she expected him to react like that to the request for the small piece of wood, she hadn't planned on how she would react to it. Eventually, the sad, helpless side of her let go, bawling her eyes out. "Waaaaaahhh!! You don't understand! I need that piece of wood!! Please? Pleeeaaase!! It's not like your using it! Besides, you're the one who took it! I want it back! Please, please, I just want it baaaaack!!" She whined in between her sobs, banging the door lightly with her fist.  
  
"Go away!" Emery's voice shouted muffled from the other side.  
  
"I can't leave! I need that back!" Rosey crooned helplessly from the door, "C'mon what's the problem anyway? I don't know anyplace else but here and there!"  
  
"NOT THERE!!!" Emery's voice echoed through the house and outside, Rosey immediately clamping her hands over her head with a yelp. The demand drove her quickly from her spot on the porch and disappeared from Emery's sight by his place in his upstairs bedroom window.  
  
-----------  
  
A while later, what he had guessed a few hours later really, Emery had returned to his bill-paying chair and the ever towering debts and bill notices, trying with all his might to forget about the strange occurrence from earlier. It had been quite a fright, even though he wasn't exactly sure who she was, it became painfully obvious that she knew something about Rose Red...Or really what used to be Rose Red.  
  
Since the time he and the small portion of the group escaped, Rose Red had been torn down soon after, just as everyone had planned. It was hard to see such a beautiful piece of construction go crashing into the piles of almost endless rubble, but it wasn't like he regretted it. Later that day after the awaited demolition the group celebrated the final breath of Rose Red with a get together at Kathy's estate. They could finally lay their tired souls (and Rose Red's soul) to rest. To Emery's stupefied shock though, the city wanted to use the large acres of land for reconstruction. In its own way this was understandable, the land was very flat and had great soil and working pipelines that still ran underground, but the only difference was it was Rose Red's property. Sister and Kathy had tried their damndest to stop any rebuild on the lot, but they were completely ignored. Before they knew it, men were scuttling about the area, readying for the new apartment complex to be built. And now, after a year and a half of painstaking work (he supposed), there stood dinky white condos all lined about where Rose Red once lived.  
  
Emery had no plans on ever returning to that place, regardless of the new construction. He was done.  
  
He again tried to focus his tired eyes on the papers in front of him, but every other line there seemed to appear the same word over and over again...  
  
Mr. Emery:  
  
It has come to our attention that your wood hasn't been paid to the correct wood. Your time for the purchased wood expired prior to one wood ago.  
  
We recommend you pay the required wood for your wood so that this wood can be relieved.  
  
Mr. Wood  
  
It seemed like a slap in the face. That damn girl had him paranoid! After a while he decided that writing up the bills wasn't the best idea in the world. Besides, after being sent a debt letter by a Mr. Wood, he knew that was the time to stop.  
  
Ding Dong.  
  
He froze at the sound of his doorbell going off. No company was expected and if it happened to be the crazy girl again he wasn't too happy with the idea of opening the door. This time, he followed his cowardice side. He didn't open the door.  
  
But as fate would have it, it wasn't that simple this time, especially when the door was sent slamming open, the lock playing no part on security. Emery jumped to his feet this time, ready to bolt from whatever it was that wanted to torment him. At this point he took the time to personally curse all spirits who hated him so.  
  
A pair of feet made their way lightly through the living room, the floor not once making a creak to signify the intruder's shifting weight. He noticed a looming shadow in the kitchen doorway, his neatly stacked bills fluttering back like two magnets of the same side coming together. Emery was mentally locked in place, fear taking its toll on him once again.  
  
"Girl..." a soft voice came from the figure ahead. The familiar sound made him let out a long sigh of relief and irritation. He regained his bearings and stood strait, walking to her.  
  
"Annie, what the hell are you doing here?!" he growled his greeting to her, whatever kind of greeting that was.  
  
Her blank gaze left his stare as the young girl paced back out of the room, bee-lining for the living room windows. Emery snorted, cursing the day since he was already cursing his life, and began to follow her to her spot. Annie slowly made her way around the lower hallway, which was directing them toward the back of the house, stopping at the window. She lifted a finger to point out towards the backyard.  
  
Emery gave her a questioning glance, but followed her direction to look outside. Through the window, Emery's expression lessened to that of a deep frown, seeing the red-headed girl from earlier sitting on his back lawn, moping her life away. Annie's eyes soon shot to a sliding door a few feet away from them, her inner demand sending the door creaking open. Actions like that, Emery had to admit, still freaked him out somewhat, but with her living only a few miles away, he had become just a little more used to her wants and needs.  
  
Annie stepped out onto the slowly drying lawn, apparent that the inside of the house wasn't the only thing being neglected, approaching her way to the girl who was slumped over her knees like a ball, Emery following her close behind. The pair halted a few feet away, Annie lifting her hand again to point at the girl.  
  
"You...girl..." Annie mumbled half-heartily, not at all too used to speaking out loud for herself. Rosey's head snapped up from the voice, turning two large glowing red eyes up to gaze at her.  
  
"What? You know her?" Emery scoffed. It was bad enough having the two in his presence together on such a bad day, but now they know each other?! Annie turned her head to stare at him with an expression that told him that he should've known, slowly nodding her head at him. Her blank gaze slid back to the still depressed girl.  
  
Her next answer would scar Emery for the next few years.  
  
"Rose Red," Annie answered him.  
  
((Okay, another chapter done. It's kinda slow, but promises are being made-- it will get better! But I think the normal rule stands, tell me what you think! And just so we all know...This is Mr. King's flick, not mine! )) 


	3. Innocent, Unanimous Decision

"Rose Red," Annie answered him.  
  
Rosey's face seemed to get ten times brighter with enthusiasm when Annie named her. Out of excitement, she launched herself off the ground and latched onto Annie, probably giving the girl an overly powerful hug. To Rosey though, she had yet to learn the difference between a simple hug and a backbreaker.  
  
"Annie!!!" She sang when Annie reluctantly accepted the hug, even though her breathing pattern had been reduced to a faint squeak. When Rosey finally decided to let go, Annie took an extra long deep breathe to regain the lost air. Emery was speechless.  
  
"...How?" he asked meekly, beginning to shrink inside an invisible shell.  
  
Rosey blinked, confused just as much as he was. She lifted a hand to rub the back of her head sheepishly, giving a mild but somehow nervous laugh along with it.  
  
"Um...I moved?" Rosey asked, trying desperately to make the pun less of one, although it was true. She was a house, and she had moved. A lot.  
  
Emery stared at the girl, disbelieving what was said. A low growl and dark eyes dimmed his expression, as if he were practicing to be a guard dog on duty. The stare made Rosey draw back a few feet in shame. She lowered her head, hanging her neck low so her face wouldn't have to be gazed upon. Annie looked at her with what little sympathy she showed in her blank eyes, but even the smallest bit of emotion on that blank canvas was enough to show how much she cared. She paced up to her, leaning ahead to level her head with Rosey's.  
  
"You got energy. Changed for moving. Hm?" Annie mumbled as best she could, regaining the lost attention of the wayward house-turned-girl. She was trying her best to phrase that as a question. Rosey glanced up at her with a weak smile.  
  
"Yes, that's true. All that energy I consumed from the people that visited me finally paid off. Even though they tore me down, I was able to rebuild myself kinda... But all my energy lies in the last piece of myself that Emery has in his house. Before I actually changed, I thought I could stay on my land, but then the condominiums were built and all I had left was to track down some piece of myself since I wasn't whole. Thankfully, it led me here, but now I have no place to stay and moving in with any other stranger would just be odd. I can't go anywhere else..." Rosey explained ruefully until she was suddenly cut off from her story by a certain half man half rabid mongoose a few feet away.  
  
"Bullshit! What did you really come here for you people eating, termite- ridden freak?! I don't want to hear your excuses!! So tell me now!" Emery roared, the year and a half of compressed stress finally letting itself loose from the soul workings of his inner "emotional bottle".  
  
Rosey immediately gasped, shrinking back a few more feet before collapsing to her knees once again. It was obvious that Emery had to have practiced insulting houses, since calling her a termite-ridden home was a horrid thing to hear for a house that was so beautifully built. She took a small breath, but broke down for the second time, crying like a child.  
  
"But...But I didn't mean to!! It's not my fault!!" she howled in between her whimpers. Even though she couldn't very well be proven innocent for what she did do, it was questionable at this point of whether or not she really meant it.  
  
"I'd like to see you prove yourself worthy of anyone's trust! You're a menace!" Emery yelled, his intention on getting under her "skin" working perfectly, but was then hit with an odd perception which made him pause to consider, "Besides, how could that whole mess NOT be your fault?"  
  
"It, it was her! It was them, always them! They made me do it, honest!" Rosey started, her once chipper attitude slowly sinking into what seemed to be a hidden anxiety. Almost an insanity, bringing more tears to her already waterlogged façade.  
  
Annie's eyes suddenly widened, as if she had woken up from her neutral coma of lost emotions, turning almost tear stained eyes to Rosey as she fell next to her. Emery could only watch in shock and horror at the display. It was as if Annie felt the intensity of Rosey's madness overflow and was trying to split the pain between the two of them.  
  
Silence followed the event for quite a while it seemed, none of them moving from their frozen positions. Emery, desperate to leave and escape the situation thought hard on what could break the ice.  
  
"Well...Uh...What do you mean by...?" he stopped when realization hit him, staring for quite some time and it saddened him. He had answered his own question, "Ellen and Sukeena."  
  
Rosey suddenly ceased her streams of tears to gaze up at him with wide eyes. Emery was struck with it. What he saw in her didn't remind him of the Rose Red he knew at all. Rose Red, he thought, was a cruel, evil and sadistic being bent on only its own personal gain and torment of anyone who was daft enough to cross its path. But this, her, those big bright eyes of hers were only filled with fear and sorrow, so much guilt and so much pain. It almost made him feel sorry for the poor ridiculous girl. Rosey, while he thought through this, had wiped her flowing tears from her eyes to shift her position to sit in front of him.  
  
"If I could make it up to you and all the others who walked out of my old self alive, I would. I want you all to know how sorry I am and I want to prove to you this wasn't my doing. I need you to know that I am just as good as any other house, er, person that you may know. Let me prove myself! I know, let me reside in your home for a while, that way, you can see first hand that I am good! You will see!" Rosey begged, standing on unbalanced feet. She had been sitting on her knees for so long, the feeling had not yet returned to her legs.  
  
Emery was dumbstruck.  
  
"WHAT?!! YOU live in MY house?!" he yelled in shrill disbelief. "Never."  
  
Emery was quickly met with a death glare from Annie who had returned to being the empty quiet girl that he knew. The stare was enough to send the cows' home and stampeding off again. It was plain to see that she wanted him to give Rosey a chance. Emery stepped back, slightly nervous of the two cold eyes, but cleared his throat to return her stare (just not as incredibly scary as hers).  
  
"No," he repeated again.

-Minutes later-

"Thaaaank yooooou! Come back again sometime, okay? Bye!" Rosey waved hyperactively from the doorstep, Annie walking off to return to her own home. The girl waved back in response before making her way down the road and disappearing around the corner.  
  
"Well, that was fun, huh? I can't believe your actually going to give me a chance to prove myself! This is too great!" Rosey continued after shutting the door, turning her attention to Emery, whose conscious mind had taken a little trip to Zimbabwe for a while. His outer expression had absolutely no emotion whatsoever.  
  
Emery was in a complete overloaded shock. Not only was he just forced to share his house with a chick he hardly knew or cared for, but it just had to be Rose Red too. He wanted to kick her out, but he knew that he'd get the whole nine yards shoved down his throat and out his ass if he did. It was problematic in its own way. No one knew that Rose Red had survived, let alone become a human girl named Rosey and Annie had left that job totally up to him for introductions should any of his comrades ask. It wasn't something he was looking forward to. Namely because of the reactions he would get. For now, though, he would delay doing that for as long as possible. It was a unanimous decision and one he was left completely out of on his say in the matter.  
  
Rose Red was officially living at his house.

((Well, I'm continuing after a few days of blank pages in the head. Hope its still going well!))


End file.
